COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONBlack Note blends the complex aromatics of Expedition Stout with the velvety smooth texture of Double Cream Stout. The combination is aged in freshly retired oak bourbon barrels for months. The result is a malty harmony of dark chocolate, espresso and dried fruit notes, all buoyed by the warmth and fragrance of the bourbon barrel. Aimed squarely at the stout aficionados, Black Note makes a grand statement about the art of the dark.

UPDATED: FEB 24, 2013 12oz bottle. Pitch black pour with thin mocha head and no retention of any kind. Roast, dark fruit, chocolate, and booze on the nose and taste. Wishing for a tad more vanilla, coconut, and a thicker body but otherwise a very solid beer.
---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Originally reviewed 2/15/2012. On tap at Bx Beer Depot. A keg of Hopslam and a keg of Black Note. Amazingly, the Hopslam kicked long before the Black Note, so I enjoyed three of these as I watched people go nuts for Hopslam. Big khaki head. Not a particularly dark head, though. Decent retention. Huge barrel aroma. Bourbon, vanilla, and oak. Roasted chocolate, but otherwise the stout is a touch lost in the barrel. Boozy, too.
Taste is chocolate and a building tingle of bourbon. Vanilla flavor throughout. The chocolate comes back in the finish in a much more bitter manifestation. Less boozy in the finish that the smell would indicate. Really wonderful incorporation of barrel and stout.
Very creamy, which I assume is the Cream Stout. Boozy and chewy, but not too thick. Low carbonation, which is strange. Nearly flat.
Itís damn good. I donít know how much separates the best BA stouts, but this one is quite nice.

UPDATED: JUL 4, 2015 2014 vintage. Dark black. Damn this is good. One of best beers ive had. Brown sugar. Tastes like dark lord i just tried but less sweet. What a treat. Lives up to the hype. Tasted at chrisí ultimate bottle share.

75 cl bottle, batch 11620, bottled dec 2012. Thanks to AdamJackson for trading this beverage. Pours black with a reddish hue, and no head. Aroma is bursting chocolate and raisins, very complex roasted malt is up yo face, beneath that, a destinct bourbon barrel aroma with tons of oak and vanilla is present, and even further down are notes of black tea, ripe cherry and espresso. Magnificent aroma. The taste is somewhat surprising. I was expecting a much fuller mouthfeel given the aroma, but the beer comes out very dry for the style, and somewhat of an alcohol burn. The taste has notes of dark cherries, bitter chocolate, oak and roasted malts. The finish is bitter, and the alcohol taste sticks in the mouth. I guess I had an idea that this would be a very heavy, viscous and creamy imperial stout, and instead it is more on the dry and well-attenuated side of the spectrum. Even though it is something completely different from my expectations, I am enjoying this beer a lot. The longer I keep it in the glass, the more it just explodes in complexity, and as it get some oxygen, the light mouthfeel actually becomes quite fitting for this beer. With all that said, fuck this is a tasty ass beverage. A true masterpiece.

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